In the present specification, reference is made to the following publications cited for illustrating prior art techniques and conventional implementations of certain procedural measures or partial aspects of processing optical and electric pulses.    [1] Fuji, T., Apolonski, A. & Krausz, F. Self-stabilization of carrier-envelope offset phase by use of difference-frequency generation. Opt Lett 29, 632-634 (2004);    [2] Telle, H. R. et al. Carrier-envelope offset phase control: A novel concept for absolute optical frequency measurement and ultrashort pulse generation. Appl Phys B-Lasers O 69, 327-332 (1999);    [3] Kane, D. & Trebino, R. Method and apparatus for measuring the intensity and phase of an ultrashort light pulse US patent (1992);    [4] Kane, D. J. & Trebino, R. Single-Shot Measurement of the Intensity and Phase of an Arbitrary Ultrashort Pulse by Using Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating. Opt Lett 18, 823-825 (1993);    [5] Kienberger, R. et al. Atomic transient recorder. Nature 427, 817-821 (2004);    [6] Goulielmakis, E. et al. Direct measurement of light waves. Science 305, 1267-1269 (2004);    [7] Schwierz, F. & Liou, J. J. RF transistors: Recent developments and roadmap toward terahertz applications. Solid State Electron 51, 1079-1091 (2007);    [8] Lin, Y. M. et al. High-frequency, scaled graphene transistors on diamond-like carbon. Nature 472, 74-78 (2011);    [9] Kurizki, G., Shapiro, M. & Brumer, P. Phase-Coherent Control of Photocurrent Directionality in Semiconductors. Phys Rev B 39, 3435-3437 (1989);    [10] Van Driel, H. M., Costa, L., Betz, M., Spasenovic, M. & Bristow, A. D. All-optical injection of ballistic electrical currents in unbiased silicon. Nature Physics 3, 632-635 (2007);    [11] Prechtel, L. et al. Time-Resolved Picosecond Photocurrents in Contacted Carbon Nanotubes. Nano Lett 11, 269-272 (2011);    [12] Franco, I., Shapiro, M. & Brumer, P. Robust ultrafast currents in molecular wires through Stark shifts. Phys Rev Lett 99, doi:Artn 126802 Doi 10.1103/Physrevlett.99.126802 (2007);    [13] Nagatsuma, T. Photonic measurement technologies for high-speed electronics. Measurement Science and Technology 13, 1655 (2002);    [14] Valley, G. C. Photonic analog-to-digital converters. Opt. Expr. 15, 1955-1982, doi:10.1364/oe.15.001955 (2007);    [15] Auston, D. H. Picosecond Optoelectronic Switching and Gating in Silicon. Appl. Phys. Lett. 26, 101-103 (1975);    [16] Auston, D. H. Ultrafast Optoelectronics. Topics in Applied Physics 60, 183-233 (1988);    [17] Shimosato, H., Ashida, M., Itoh, T., Saito, S. & Sakai, K. Ultrabroadband detection of terahertz radiation from 0.1 to 100 THz with photoconductive antenna. Springer Series Opti 132, 317-323 (2007);    [18] Katzenellenbogen, N. & Grischkowsky, D. Efficient Generation of 380 Fs Pulses of Thz Radiation by Ultrafast LaserPulse Excitation of a Biased Metal-Semiconductor Interface. Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 222-224 (1991);    [19] Xu, L. et al. Route to phase control of ultrashort light pulses. Opt Lett 21, 2008-2010 (1996);    [20] Jones, D. J. et al. Carrier-envelope phase control of femtosecond mode-locked lasers and direct optical frequency synthesis. Science 288, 635-639 (2000);    [21] Apolonski, A. et al. Controlling the phase evolution of few-cycle light pulses. Phys Rev Lett 85, 740-743 (2000).    [22] Apolonski, A. et al. Observation of light-phasesensitive photoemission from a metal. Phys Rev Lett 92, 073902 (2004);    [23] Hommelhoff, P., Kruger, M. & Schenk, M. Attosecond control of electrons emitted from a nanoscale metal tip. Nature 475, 78-81 (2011);    [24] Wittmann, T. et al. Single-shot carrier-envelope phase measurement of few-cycle laser pulses. Nat Phys 5, 357-362, (2009);    [25] Keldysh, L. V. Ionization in Field of a Strong Electromagnetic Wave. Soy Phys Jetp-Ussr 20, 1307-& (1965).    [26] Durach, M., Rusina, A., Kling, M. F. & Stockman, M. I. Metallization of Nanofilms in Strong Adiabatic Electric Fields. Phys Rev Lett 105, 086803 (2010.
Ultra-short light pulses can be described in the time domain using a concept of a carrier wave formed by the electric field amplitude of light and an amplitude envelope. The carrier wave has a light frequency in the THz and beyond the PHz range. The relative position of the carrier wave with respect to the envelope is described with the carrier envelope phase (CE phase, φCE), which is e.g. φCE=0, if the maxima of the carrier wave and the envelope are coincident, or φCE=+/−π/2, if the carrier wave is zero at the maximum of the envelope. The CE phase influences physical effects of the laser pulses, e.g. in light-matter-interactions or light-light-superpositions. Typically, the CE phase is changing along a pulse train of laser pulses. The time derivation of the CE phase is called CE offset frequency fCEO. In the frequency domain, ultra-short light pulses are represented by a spectrum of frequency components contributing to the light pulses (so-called frequency comb). The frequency spacing between the frequency components (comb frequencies) corresponds to the repetition frequency of the laser source device. The absolute positions of the comb frequencies additionally are influenced by the CE frequency. For obtaining stabilized laser source devices, in particular creating frequency combs with stabilized comb frequencies, there is a need for controlling and stabilizing the CE phase φCE or the CE frequency.
Currently, the CE phase φCE of ultra-short electromagnetic pulses can be measured via interferometric measurements ([1], [2]) and frequency-resolved optical gating methods ([3], [4]). Full characterization (i.e. full temporal or spectral structure of an electromagnetic observable) can be achieved via attosecond photoelectron spectroscopy ([5], [6]) which requires few- to sub-femtosecond laser pulses produced in free-electron laser facilities or by means of high-harmonic generation in ultra-high vacuum setups.
Conventional techniques for stabilizing laser sources based on the above approaches have essential disadvantages in terms of complexity and stability of the optical and electrical set-up. Accordingly, there are restrictions of stabilizing the CE phase φCE of compact laser sources used under practical conditions.
In electronics technique, there is a general interest to process electronic signals with high processing frequencies. However, the above frequencies in the upper THz range and up to PHz range are not available for signal processing. As an example, prior art solid-state field-effect transistors (FET) are able to control currents at frequencies beyond ˜100 GHz only ([7], [8]). All-optical injection of currents via interfering photo-excitation pathways ([9] to [12]) or photoconductive switching of THz transients ([13] to [18]) offer the capability of controlling electronic current on a sub-picosecond timescale in semiconductors.